Control with push button radially mounted in dial

ABSTRACT

A control apparatus has a dial for operating a rotatable device and has a push button radially mounted in the dial for operating a depressible device when the dial is in a selected position.

United States Patent Katchka 1 Apr. 8, 1975 [541 CONTROL WITH PUSH BUTTON 1353.759 7/1944 Ray 137/66 RADIALLY MOUNTED 1N DIAL 2.588.179 3/1952 Th0rnberry.... 137/66 2.799 454 7/1957 Rouse 137/66 [75] Inventor: Jay R. Katchka, Cypress. Calif. 2,850,032 9/1958 Coffey 137/66 2,869,566 l/l959 Algino et all. 137/66 [73] Assgnee' Rlbertshaw Controls Company 3.0021519 10/1961 Wrightet 137/66 3.236.252 2/1966 Allingham 137/66 22 Filed: May 15 1973 3.685.730 8/1972 Kutchka 137/66 [2 1] App! 360702 Primary E.\'aminerWilliam R. Cline Assistant ExaminerGeorge L. Walton [52] U.S. Cl. 137/65; 137/66; 236/1 H; Attorney. Agent. 0r Firm-Anthony A. OBrien 431/54 [51] Int. Cl. F22b 37/42 57 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 137/65, 66; 236/1 H; l l

431 53 54 A control apparatus has a dull for operatmg a rotatable device and has a push button radially mounted in 5 References Cited the dial for operating a depressible device when the UNITED STATES PATENTS dial is in a selected position.

2313.890 3/1943 Ray 137/66 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures VII/I '2 g as I CONTROL WITH PUSH BUTTON RADIALLY MOUNTED IN DIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to control apparatus, and in particular, to apparatus having a rotatable control and depressible control; for example, a fluid control apparatus having a rotatable manual valve and a depressible safety valve.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many apparatus having rotatable controls and depressible controls are contained in the prior art as exemplified by US. Pat. Nos. 2,395,470, 2,869,566 and 3,5 66,1 17. One prior art fluid control apparatus utilizes a manual valve knob and a separate safety valve reset button interlocked with the manual knob to prevent operation of the reset button unless the manual knob is in a predetermined or pilot position; however, the reset button can be abused or broken such that it is possible to reset the safety valve when the manual knob is in a position other than the *pilot" position. Other prior art fluid control apparatus employ expensive and complex interlocking facilities for preventing the reset ting of a safety valve unless a main valve is in a predetermined position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is summarized in that a control apparatus includes a support, rotatable means mounted on the support for operating in response to rotation, depressible means mounted on the support for operating in response to being depressed. a manual dial mounted on the rotatable means for rotating the rotatable means, the dial extending over the depressible means for preventing manual access to the depressible means, and a push button mounted in the dial spaced from the center of rotation of the dial such that when the dial is in a predetermined position the push button is aligned with the depressible means for operating the depressible means.

An object of the invention is to provide a control apparatus which is relatively inexpensive and safe to operate.

Another object of the invention is to assure that a de pressible device cannot be operated unless a rotatable device is in a predetermined position.

One advantage of the invention is that abuse or breakage of a depressible button can not allow operation of the button when a rotatable dial is in any position other than a predetermined position.

Additional features of the invention are the provision of facilities, such as spring means or a raised rib, for holding the push button in an raised position; and the provision of a arcuate groove formed in a dial for receiving both a depressible stem and a ridge which holds a push button in a raised position and engages a stop in the groove to limit rotary movement of the dial.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view, partially broken away, of a fluid control apparatus in accordance with the mvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a control apparatus, such as a gaseous fuel control apparatus for a water heater. A housing 12 has in inlet and is connected to a pipe 14 communicating with a pilot burner 15 and to a pipe 18 communicating with a main burner 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the housing 12 contains a safety valve 22, a manual valve 32 and a thermostat valve 38 all interconnected in a conventional control arrangement. The safety valve 22 is any suitable valve, such as a magnetic safety valve, for preventing flow of fluid through the manual valve 32 upon the existence of a predetermined condition, such as a decrease in current through a line 24 connected between the magnetic safety valve 22 and a thermocouple 26 sensing a flame of the pilot burner 16. A depressible stem 28 extends through a wall 30 of the housing 12 and is operatively connected with the safety valve 22 for opening the safety valve when the stem 28 is depressed or moved downward. The manual valve 32 is any suitable valve, such as a gas cock valve or a valving arrangement operated by cams, which can be selectively placed in one of a plurality of operating positions by a rotatable shaft 34 extending through the wall 30 of the housing 12 to a dial 36. The operating positions of the manual valve 32 include an off' position. a pilot position for supplying fuel to the pilot burner 16, and an on" position for supplying fuel to the pilot burner 16 and to a thermostat valve 38 which supplies fuel to the main burner 20. The thermostat valve 38 is any suitable valve which opens when a temperature sensed by a thermostat element 40 drops below a temperature setting of a dial 4] and which closes when the temperature sensed by the element 40 rises above the temperature setting of the dial 4].

The dial 36 has a circular groove 42 formed in the bottom concentric to the axis of rotation thereof into which the end of the stem 28 extends such that the stem 28 is covered by the dial 36 to prevent manual access to the stem 28. The dial 36 has a push button 44 slidably mounted within an opening 46 extending from the groove 42 to the top of the dial 36 with flanges 48 and 50 on the push button 44 extending into an enlarged portion of the groove 42 to limit upward movement of the push button 44 in the dial 36. Arcuate ribs or ridges 52 and 58 extend upwardly from the wall 30 into the groove 42 for engaging a surface of an arcuate slot 54 formed in the bottom of the push button 44 and for holding the push button 44 in a raised position when dial 36 is in a counterclockwise or clockwise position, respectively. A stop 56 is formed in the groove 42 opposite to the push button 44 for engaging the arcuate ribs 52 and 58 and limiting movement of the dial 36.

The stem 28 has a retaining ring 60 for limiting upward movement of the stem 28 and a spring 62 between the bottom of a recess 64 in the wall 30 and a retaining ring 66 on the stem 28 for urging the stem 28 in an upward direction when not operated by the push button 44.

The ridges 52 and 58 and the stem 28, in its raised position, extend to substantially the same height above the wall 30 to support the push button 44. Suitable provisions such as rounding of the edges of the ridges 52 I and 58, the end of the stem 28 and the edges of the push button 44 are made to insure that the push button 44 will easily slide onto the ridges 52 and 58 and the stem without hindering the rotary movement of the dial 36.

In operation of the fluid control apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-4 to reset the safety valve 22 and allow the ignition of the pilot burner 16, the dial 36 is rotated to the pilot" position, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to position the push button 44 over the stem 28 such that the push button 44 does not engage either of the ridges 52 or 58. The push button 44 is then manually depressed and held in the depressed position to open the safety valve 22 while the pilot burner 16 is ignited and the thermocouple 26 is heated to produce sufficient current in the line 24, to maintain the safety valve 22 in its open or reset position. Release of the push button 44 allows the spring 62 to return the stem 28 and the push button 44 to their raised positions. Then the dial 34 can be rotated to the on position illustrated in FIG. 4, to allow the thermostat valve 38 to operate the main burner 20.

When it is desired to have neither the pilot burner nor the main burner operating, the dial 36 is rotated clockwise to the off position to terminate the flow of fluid to the pilot burner 16 and the main burner 20. In the event the pilot burner 16 is extinguished by a gust of air, loss offuel, etc. the thermocouple 26, cools, and the safety valve 22 closes to terminate the fuel flow and prevent the hazardous release of fuel.

When the dial 36 is in a clockwise position, as illustrated in FIG. 1, or the of position, the ridge 52 engages the bottom of the push button 44 to maintain the push button 44 in a raised position. The ridge 58 engages the stop 56 to limit the clockwise rotation of the dial 36 to the of position. When the dial 36 is in a counterclockwise position or the on position, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the ridge 58 engages the bottom of the push button 44 to maintain the push button 44 in its raised position while the ridge 52 engages the stop 56 to limit the counterclockwise rotation of the dial 36 to the on" position.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment wherein certain parts are identified by the same numerals which identify parts in FIGS. 1-4 to indicate that those commonly identified parts have similar structure and/or function. A push button 68 is slidably mounted within an opening 70 in a dial 72 mounted on the rotatable shaft 34 extending from the wall of the housing 12. The push button 68 has a compression spring 74 engaging, at one end, an enlarged upper portion of the push button 68 and engaging, at another end, a ledge 76 in the bottom of the opening 70 for normally urging the push button 68 to a raised position where a retaining ring 78 abuts the bottom ofthe ledge 76. The push button 68 can be used to depress the reset stem 28 only when the dial 72 is in a pilot position.

Since many variations, modifications and changes in detail can be made to the present embodiments, it is intended that the above description and the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means for controlling a fluid;

safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid through the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists;

a housing having a wall and means for supporting the manual valve means and the safety valve means;

a rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing for operating the manual valve means;

a slidable stem extending through the wall of the housing for resetting the safty valve means, the stem being spaced from the shaft;

a dial mounted on the shaft and having a shape that extends over and covers said stem at all times regardless of the rotative position of said dial with respect to the stem so as to prevent manual access to the stem; and

push button means mounted in the dial and spaced from the center of rotation of the dial for movement with the dial such that when the dial is in a predetermined position the push button means is in a position disposed in alignment with the stem for operating the stem to reset the safety valve means upon depression of the push button means.

2. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes spring means for urging the push button means to a raised position.

3. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1, which includes means cooperating with the wall of the housing for holding the push button means in a raised position when the dial is in a position rotated from the predetermined position.

4. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the dial has an opening spaced from the center of rotation of the dial, and wherein the push button means includes a push button mounted in the opening of the dial.

5. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein a spring means is mounted in the opening of said dial and interposed between said push button and said dial for urging said push button to a raised position with respect to said dial, and wherein retaining means retain said push button in the opening of said dial.

6. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means for controlling a fluid;

safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid through the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists;

a housing having a wall and means for supporting the manual valve means and the safety valve means;

a rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing for operating the manual valve means;

a slidable stem extending through the wall of the housing for resetting the safety valve means, the stem being spaced from the shaft;

a dial mounted on the shaft and extending over the stem to prevent manual access to the stem;

a push button mounted in the dial and spaced form the center of rotation of the dial such that when the dial is in a predetermined position the push button is in a position for operating the stem to reset the safety valve means;

the dial having (a) an arcuate groove in the bottom thereof concentric with the axis of rotation and (b) an opening extending from the groove to the top of the dial;

the stem extending into the groove;

the push button extending from the opening in the top of the dial and having a flange in the groove for retaining outward movement of the push button; and

the housing having an arcuately formed ridge extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is in a position rotated from the predetermined position.

7. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the dial has a stop formed in the groove, and

the ridge on the housing cooperates with the stop to limit rotary movement of the dial.

8. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means having at least three operating positions for controlling a fluid;

magnetic safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid to the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists;

a housing having a wall for containing the manual valve means and the safety valve means; rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing and having at least three rotative positions for selecting the operating position of the manua valve means; slidnble stem extending outward from the wall of the housing for resetting the magnetic safety valve means when the stem is moved inward; means for normally biasing the stem to an outward position;

a dial mounted on the shaft for rotating the shaft and dial such that when the dial is in an intermediate position the push button is aligned with the stem for operating the stem to reset the magnetic safety valve means, the push button having a flange extending transversely into the groove for limiting outward movement of the push button;

a first arcuate ridge formed on the wall and extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is rotated clockwise from the intermediate position and for engaging with the stop when the dial is rotated counterclockwise from the intermediate position; and

a second arcuate ridge formed on the wall and extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is rotated counterclockwise from the intermediate position and for engaging with the stop when the dial is rotated clockwise from the intermediate position.

9. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the stem is spring biased to an outward position; and

wherein the stem, the first arcuate ridge and the second arcuate ridge all extend to substantially the same outward distance from the wall 

1. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means for controlling a fluid; safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid through the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists; a housing having a wall and means for supporting the manual valve means and the safety valve means; a rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing for operating the manual valve means; a slidable stem extending through the wall of the housing for resetting the safty valve means, the stem being spaced from the shaft; a dial mounted on the shaft and having a shape that extends over and covers said stem at all times regardless of the rotative position of said dial with respect to the stem so as to prevent manual access to the stem; and push button means mounted in the dial and spaced from the center of rotation of the dial for movement with the dial such that when the dial is in a predetermined position the push button means is in a position disposed in alignment with the stem for operating the stem to reset the safety valve means upon depression of the push button means.
 2. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes spring means for urging the push button means to a raised position.
 3. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1, which includes means cooperating with the wall of the housing for holding the push button means in a raised position when the dial is in a position rotated from the predetermined position.
 4. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the dial has an opening spaced from the center of rotation of the dial, and wherein the push button means includes a push button mounted in the opening of the dial.
 5. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein a spring means is mounted in the opening of said dial and interposed between said push button and said dial for urging said push button to a raised position with respect to said dial, and wherein retaining means retain said push button in the opening of said dial.
 6. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means for controlling a fluid; safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid through the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists; a housing having a wall and means for supporting the manual valve means and the safety valve means; a rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing for operating the manual valve means; a slidable stem extending through the wall of the housing for resetting the safety valve means, the stem being spaced from the shaft; a dial mounted on the shaft and extending over the stem to prevent manual access to the stem; a push button mounted in the dial and spaced form the center of rotation of the dial such that when the dial is in a predetermined position the push button is in a position for operating the stem to reset the safety valve means; the dial having (a) an arcuate groove in the bottom thereof concentric with the axis of rotation and (b) an opening extending from the groove to the top of the dial; the stem extending into the groove; the push button extending from the opening in the top of the dial and having a flange in the groove for retaining outward movement of the push button; and the housing having an arcuately formed ridge extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is in a position rotated from the predetermined position.
 7. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the dial has a stop formed in the groove, and the ridge on the housing cooperates with the stop to limit rotary movement of the dial.
 8. A fluid control apparatus comprising manual valve means having at least three operating positions for controlling a fluid; magnetic safety valve means for preventing the flow of fluid to the manual valve means when a predetermined condition exists; a housing having a wall for containing the manual valve means and the safety valve means; a rotatable shaft extending through the wall of the housing and having at least three rotative positions for selecting the operating position of the manual valve means; a slidable stem extending outward from the wall of the housing for resetting the magnetic safety valve means when the stem is moved inward; means for normally biasing the stem to an outward position; a dial mounted on the shaft for rotating the shaft and extending over the stem to prevent manual access to the stem, the dial having (a) a circular groove in the bottom thereof concentric with the axis of rotation for receiving the outward extending end of the stem, (b) an opening extending from the groove to the top of the dial and (c) a stop formed in the groove opposite the opening; a push button slidably mounted in the opening of the dial such that when the dial is in an intermediate position the push button is aligned with the stem for operating the stem to reset the magnetic safety valve means, the push button having a flange extending transversely into the groove for limiting outward movement of the push button; a first arcuate ridge formed on the wall and extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is rotated clockwise from the intermediate position and for engaging with the stop when the dial is rotated counterclockwise from the intermediate position; and a second arcuate ridge formed on the wall and extending into the groove for holding the push button in an outward position when the dial is rotated counterclockwise from the intermediate position and for engaging with the stop when the dial is rotated clockwise from the intermediate position.
 9. A fluid control apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the stem is spring biased to an outward position; and wherein the stem, the first arcuate ridge and the second arcuate ridge all extend to substantially the same outward distance from the wall. 